The Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR) announced Wednesday it is filing charges of discrimination against the Grand Rapids Police Department. The charges stem from a 2018 incident where three black youths were handcuffed and detained at gunpoint.
The Michigan Department of Civil Rights says that the GRPD discriminated against two 11-year-old African American children when police stopped the pair, and a 17-year-old with them as well, after reports of children walking along train tracks nearby with a toy gun.
John Johnson Jr. is executive director of the civil rights department.
“It is important to note that one, there was no initial crime reported,” John Johnson Jr., executive director of the civil rights department, said during a news conference held via Zoom. “There is nothing illegal about children walking near train tracks with what the 911 caller identified repeatedly as a toy gun.”
Meanwhile, the City of Grand Rapids said in a statement it was “reviewing the charges” and would respond appropriately.”
